Removing the Defender
Eliminate or divert the piece that protects a key square or piece to win material.
Published 2026-02-01 | Last verified 2026-02-12
Professor Archer says: In my university years, I taught logic and argumentation. Removing the defender in chess reminds me of a technique in debate: if you cannot defeat the main argument, undermine the premises that support it. In chess, if you cannot directly attack a well-defended piece, remove the piece that is defending it. The logic is identical — remove the support, and the structure collapses. This principle transformed my understanding of tactics when I learned it.
The Logic of Removing the Defender
Every defended piece in chess relies on other pieces for its safety. When you attack a piece that is defended, capturing it typically leads to an equal exchange — you take their piece, they take yours back. But what if you could eliminate the defender first? Then the piece behind it would be left hanging, free for the taking.
This is the essence of removing the defender. Instead of attacking the target directly, you attack the piece that is protecting the target. Once the defender is gone, the original target becomes vulnerable.
The tactic works in three main ways. First, you can capture the defender outright. If the defending piece can be taken with a favorable exchange (or even an equal one), taking it first leaves the original target unprotected. Second, you can chase the defender away with a threat. If you attack the defending piece with something it cannot afford to lose, it must retreat, abandoning the piece it was protecting. Third, you can lure the defender away by creating a more important threat elsewhere, forcing it to attend to a different duty.
Removing the defender is one of the most commonly occurring tactical themes in chess. It appears in combination with almost every other tactic — forks, pins, skewers, and mating attacks all become possible once a key defender is eliminated.
Removing the Defender in Action
Let us examine a practical example of how removing the defender operates in a real chess position. In many middlegame positions, one side has a piece defending a critical square or another piece, and the entire defensive setup depends on that single piece.
Consider a position where Black's knight on f6 is the only piece defending the pawn on d5. If White can exchange that knight (perhaps by playing Bxf6), the pawn on d5 becomes undefended and can be captured on the next move. White exchanges a bishop for a knight (roughly equal material) but then wins a free pawn — a net gain.
In the position shown, notice how pieces defend each other in a chain. The challenge for the attacking side is to identify the weakest link in that chain — the one defender that, if removed, causes the most damage to the defensive structure.
Sometimes removing the defender involves a sacrifice. You might give up material to eliminate a key defender, knowing that the resulting position will yield back more material or create a mating attack. These combinations are among the most beautiful in chess, where a seemingly strange capture turns out to be the key to unraveling the entire enemy position.
Always look for defenders that serve double duty — protecting two things at once. These overloaded pieces are prime targets for the removing the defender tactic.
Identify which piece is defending a key target, then find a way to eliminate that defender.
Methods of Removing the Defender
There are several specific methods for removing a defender, and knowing all of them gives you more tactical weapons to deploy.
Capture is the most direct method. Simply take the defending piece. Even if the capture results in an equal exchange, the subsequent capture of the now-undefended target yields a net material gain. This is the most common form of the tactic.
Deflection forces the defender to leave its post by creating a more important threat. For example, if a knight is defending a bishop, you might attack the knight with your queen. The knight must move to avoid losing itself, and when it does, the bishop is left undefended. Deflection and removing the defender are closely related concepts.
Interference blocks the defender's line of protection. If a rook is defending along a rank, you might place a piece on that rank between the rook and the piece it is defending, cutting off the defensive line. The defended piece becomes undefended without the rook actually moving.
Sacrifice is the most dramatic method. You might sacrifice a valuable piece to capture the defender, knowing that the resulting position will be winning. For example, sacrificing a rook to capture a knight that was the sole defender of the back rank can lead to a mating attack that more than compensates for the material investment.
Each method has its place, and the best tactical players consider all of them before choosing their approach.
Thinking in Terms of Defenders
One of the most powerful thinking habits in chess is to constantly evaluate defensive relationships on the board. For every piece your opponent has, ask yourself: what is defending this piece? Is it defended by one piece or several? Can I remove or neutralize that defense?
This defender-aware thinking transforms how you see the board. Instead of looking only at attacks and threats, you begin to see the invisible web of defensive connections between your opponent's pieces. Every defended piece is a node in this web, and every defender is a link. Break the right link, and multiple nodes become vulnerable.
Here is a practical exercise: in your next few games, before making each move, pick three of your opponent's pieces and identify what defends each one. Then ask whether you could profitably attack any of those defenders. You will be surprised how often the answer is yes.
This approach is especially powerful when combined with other tactical awareness. A piece that is simultaneously pinned, overloaded, and serving as the sole defender of another piece is a target from multiple angles. Recognizing these compound vulnerabilities is the mark of a tactically mature player.
As you develop this habit, you will notice that strong positions tend to have pieces that defend each other mutually, while weak positions have pieces that rely on a single overworked defender. Creating positions where your pieces support each other is the essence of sound chess.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is removing the defender in chess?
Removing the defender is a tactic where you eliminate, chase away, or divert the piece that is protecting an enemy target. Once the defender is gone, the target it was guarding becomes unprotected and can be captured for free.
How do you use removing the defender in a game?
Identify which enemy piece is the sole defender of a valuable target. Then capture that defender (even in an equal exchange), threaten it so it must retreat, or lure it away with a more urgent threat. Once the defender is removed, capture the now-unguarded target.
Professor Archer says: Train yourself to ask one question in every position: for each of my opponent's pieces, what is defending it? If a piece has only one defender, that defender is a target. Removing a single defender often unravels your opponent's entire position. This is one of the most practical thinking habits in chess.
Quick Quiz
Black's knight on f6 is the only piece defending the pawn on d5. White plays Bxf6. Why is this an example of removing the defender?
- Because the bishop is more valuable than the knight - Bishops and knights are roughly equal in value. The point of the exchange is not the relative values of the traded pieces, but the consequence for what the knight was defending.
- Because eliminating the knight leaves the d5 pawn undefended (Correct) - Correct. By capturing the knight that was defending the d5 pawn, White removes the only defender. The d5 pawn is now hanging and can be captured for free, netting White an extra pawn.
- Because it forces Black to recapture with the queen - How Black recaptures is secondary. The key point is that the knight was defending d5, and its removal leaves that pawn unprotected.
- Because the bishop was pinning the knight - This is not a pin — it is a capture. The bishop takes the knight, removing it from the board entirely. The tactic is about eliminating the defender, not restricting its movement.